HIGHLANDS RANCH | The Regis Jesuit ice hockey program’s quest to reestablish its championship-winning pedigree has taken another step.
The Raiders have six state championships to rank second all-time in Colorado, but haven’t played for a title back since winning their last one in 2019.
That will change this season, as coach Terry Ott’s top-seeded Regis Jesuit team downed No. 4 Monarch 5-2 Saturday evening at South Suburban Sports Complex to claim a spot in Tuesday’s 5A title game at Magness Arena on the campus of the University of Denver.
“We’ve talked about reestablishing our hockey culture over the last couple of years,” Ott said. “How you get to that pinnacle, the things you have to do. You can’t rest on what previous teams have done and if you don’t play well, you don’t get back.
“We’re really worked hard the last couple of years on developing a culture and getting back to becoming a team. I couldn’t be more proud of this group.”
The Raiders will have to go through rival and second-seeded Valor Christian — which topped No. 3 Cherry Creek 4-1 in the other semifinal — to win a title in the game scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Magness Arena.
After an 11-day hiatus following the end of the regular season, Regis Jesuit took a little while to get going against Standley Lake in the quarterfinals, but finished that game (a 7-2 win) with a five-goal third period. The offensive binge continued with two goals in the opening period against Monarch.
Junior Parker Brinner opened the scoring with six minutes left in the period and senior Ian Beck doubled the advantage with just over a minute left before the first intermission.
“I think championships is about building momentum and I think as a team we just have to keep building up to our final goal,” junior Nolan Williams said.
The ice tilted a bit the other way in the second period, when Regis Jesuit freshman goalie Easton Sparks faced a barrage of shots from the Coyotes. While Sparks stood on his head for most of the period, Monarch got two goals in the final 5:56 of the second. The first came when Ben Rosenberg had a 1-on-1 chance and found the net and the second came on Ryan Beals’ shot through traffic that made it through.
But despite the flurry, the Raiders remained in front by two goals thanks to scores by senior Harry Sorensen and Williams.
Facing a team desperate to rally, Regis Jesuit scored again on an empty-netter by Williams with just 1:06 remaining to seal it.
Sparks finished with 33 saves.
“Easton has made the saves when we needed them and he’s a gamer,” Ott said. “You don’t often see that in a player that young. …He’s almost unflappable back there and that’s really what you want in a goalie.”
Regis Jesuit is looking forward to the chance to play a Valor Christian team it split with in the regular season and perhaps win a seventh all-time state title.
“We deserve to be up there and I think it’s evident,” Beck said.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2024 CLASS 5A ICE HOCKEY SEMIFINALS
March 2 at South Suburban Sports Complex
(1) REGIS JESUIT 5, (4) MONARCH 2
Score by periods:
Monarch 0 2 0 — 2
Regis Jesuit 2 2 1 — 5
SCORING
First period: Regis Jesuit — Parker Brinner (Ian Beck, Dhilan Paranjape), 6:00; Regis Jesuit — Beck (Nolan Williams, Zachary Lorenzo), 1:28
Second period: Regis Jesuit — Harry Sorensen (Paranjape), 6:30; Monarch — Ben Rosenberg (Jaren Ng), 5:56; Regis Jesuit — Williams (Brinner, Lorenzo), 1:59; Monarch — Ryan Beals (Trey Chance)
Third period: Regis Jesuit — Williams, 1:06
Monarch saves: Joshua Ringoen (30 shots on goal-25 saves). Regis Jesuit saves: Easton Sparks (35 shots on goal-33 saves)